Cheap Thrills, Sept. 12-18

Grandpa's Cough Medicine — 8 p.m. Thursday (Sept. 12). A benefit for WSLR-LP 96.5 at Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center, 525 Kumquat Court, Sarasota. Opening the show will be Jerry's Kids featuring Michael Miller and Nate Howell. $8 in advance, $10 at the door. Available at wslr.org.

AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Tour’s St. Pete Open — Friday through Sunday (Sept. 13-15). For the first time, a stadium will be constructed in downtown St. Petersburg’s Vinoy Park, and a “beach” will be built to accommodate St. Pete's first professional beach volleyball tournament. The AVP Tour will truck in more than 1,000 metric tons of sand and build four sand courts on top of the grass. The Tour will also erect a 1,500-seat stadium that will surround one of the courts, where the best matches of the weekend will be played. The tournament will feature all the top professionals in the country vying for their share of a $150,000 prize purse. Players competing include Olympic heroes like Kerri Walsh Jennings (three-time Olympic gold medalist), Jennifer Kessy and April Ross (2012 Olympic silver medalists), Floridian Phil Dalhausser and Todd Rogers (2008 Olympic god medalists) and two-time Olympians Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal. There are also many players with local ties, including Brooke (Youngquist) Sweat, Raquel Ferreira and other Florida natives. Tickets: $15 for each session. All tickets allow fans access to the outer courts and vendor village – no one will be admitted to these areas without a ticket. General admission tickets are free for kids 6 and under, and each adult ticket purchased allows the purchaser one free ticket for a child 7-12 years old. Hours: 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. AVP.com.

Sidewalk Astronomy — Sunset-10 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 14). The Local Group of Deep Sky Observers, a Bradenton/Sarasota group of astronomy enthusiasts, will set up their high-quality telescopes for the season’s first public viewing in the field north of the Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive. Highlights of the evening will be views of the first quarter moon, plus a chance to spot the most elusive planet in the solar system, Neptune. Free. 342-9632; LGDSO.com.

3rd annual NSRA Appreciation Day and Car Show — 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 14) at Rick Treworgy's Muscle Car City, 3811 Tamiami Trail, Punta Gorda . This event is free to all show car owners and spectators. Trophies and door prizes will be awarded. Music provided by Tommy Tunes. No admission fee to enter the Diner, Memorabilia Store, Speed Shop or Indoor "For Sale" Car Corral. Admission to the Muscle Car Collection is $12.50 for a daily pass or $37.50 + tax for an annual pass. Children under 12 are $6 + tax and children under 2 are free with a paid adult. musclecarcity.net.

Florida Watercolor Society's 42nd Annual Exhibition — Tuesday (Sept. 16) through Oct. 25 at Art Center Sarasota, , 707 N. Tamiami Trail. The exhibit showcases 100 of the best works by artists from Florida and around the country. Forty of the works are from West-Central Florida artists, including Kris Parins, Helen Burkett, Elaine Charney and Diane Schmidt of Sarasota; Roger Parent of Osprey; Gary Morgan of Nokomis; Marilyn Priem and Deb Wicks of Venice; Roger Rockefeller of Longboat Key; Pauline Boston of Parrish; Anne Abgott and Susanna Spann of Cortez; and Kathy Simon-McDonald and Linda Lucas of Bradenton. Opening reception is Sept. 20, 5-7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. 365-2032; artsarasota.org.

Last modified: September 19, 2013
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